Okay, so this season is crap. I’d like to go into a bit more detail than that though, because there are a few things going on here. First of all, it is true that this season is in between two really good seasons. Producers are burnt out so that means less variety. Dear god, less variety. Everything just looks like each other, and the only really innovative series that isn’t a sequel got bogged down by bad characters and boobs.

However, when I compiled this entry, I did notice something… the last time I wrote a summary in a Summer or Winter season that had as many entries as this one was back in the summer of 2007, which was like the best season… ever. Seriously, 42 shows is normal for Spring or Autumn, but the small seasons usually only have around 30 entries, no more. If there is anything, this season has a huge quantity of series. This is both due to the stupid 3-minute series, and a lot of series that continued over from previous seasons.

But that makes even more bizarre to see just how much crap managed to accumulate in just one season. I mean, the below list is huge, yet I’m only going to continue with about 18 of them. That means that for 24 of them, I just did not find them worth my time. The thing with this season is that there just are really few non-sequels that I find interesting enough to continue. Because of that, I’m going to label this season at this point as the second-worst I have ever blogged, after Winter 2010.

The positive about this season? The amount of series that continue from the previous seasons is staggering, and there are so many of them that deliver and managed to evolve into interesting ways. Seriously, we’re bound to get a huge load of awesome climaxes in the next two months.

#42 (new) – Puchimas! Petit Idolmaster – (3/10) – Idolmaster… I didn’t like it, but I didn’t find it to be the worst series. This however, is just poorly produced crap meant to just get some dollars off the idolmaster name.#41 (new) – Mangirl – (3.25/10) – Worst title ever. Dropped.#40 (new) – Boku no Imouto wa Osaka Okan – (3.5/10) – Screw incest! Dropped.#39 (new) – Da Capo III – (4/10) – Generic harem with stupid and uninteresting characters. Dropped.#38 (new) – Love Live! – (4.25/10) – Stupid premise with cliched characters. I saw nothing interesting in this one, talk about the difference with AKB…. Dropped.#37 (new) – Ai Mai Mi – (4.5/10) – Really bad jokes that try way too hard to be edgy. Dropped.#36 (new) – Line Offline Salaryman – (4.5/10) – Bad office jokes. Dropped.#35 (new) – Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru – (5/10) – Ohoho, this series thinks that it’s got a fresh new take on a tired formula… while in fact it’s completely cliched anyway. Poor characters, stupid premise, nothing that stands out. Dropped.#34 (new) – Senyuu – (5.1/10) – Bad RPG jokes. As a parody, it just isn’t funny enough. Dropped.#33 (new) – Cuticle Detective Inaba – (5.25/10) – The problem with this series is that it’s incredibly silly, while it thinks it’s funny. It isn’t! It’s trying way too hard! Dropped.#32 (new) – Ishida to Asakura – (5.5/10) – What the hell was that?! Incredibly corny and silly, yet dropped.#31 (new) – Vividred Operation – (6/10) – Vividred is way too calculated. It does things because it thinks that they are popular, and rips off specific scenes for this. Seems to be working, but for me: dropped.#30 (new) – Mondaijitachi ga Isekai Kara Kuru Sou Desu yo – (6/10) – Feels like Dog Days, in which the characters somehow end up playing light-hearted games, which reduce all of the tension from the show for the sake of having fun. It if was fun it would be excused, but I found the first episode to be really trite and boring.#29 (new) – Senran Kagura – (6/10) – Boobs. Dropped.#28 (new) – GJ Bu – (6.1/10) – The standard format of a club with a guy and a bunch of girls doing a bunch of random stuff. Not funny nor interesting, stereotypical characters. Dropped.#27 (new) – gdgd Fairies 2 – (7/10) – Had some good jokes about going against your expectations, but not good enough. Dropped.#26 (new) – Bakumatsu Gijiden Roman – (7.25/10) – Too childish. The problem is that it thinks it’s edgy, while it’s incredibly cheesy. I see no potential. Dropped.#25 (new) – Haitai Nanafa – (7.4/10) – Quite the gorgeous series, actually. Didn’t continue with it due to lack of time though. Dropped.#24 (new) – Sasami@Ganbaranai – (7.5/10) – This feels like just another Shaft series. The thing is, that it could end up with a good climax again, but I don’t want to sit through hours of random crap to find out. I lasted two episodes here, and the series just wasted too much time on bad jokes and characters trying way too hard to show off their stereotypes. Dropped.#23 (new) – Yama no Susume – (7.6/10) – Mountain climbing. Sounds fun, but ultimately three minutes plus rather boring characters weren’t enough to make me keep watching Dropped.#22 (new) – Nekomonogatari (Black) – (7.6/10) – Do I want to watch more of the monogatari series? Do I want more of the style of this series and the really good animation? Do I want to see more of these incredibly annoying characters? Dropped? Not sure, actually…#21 (new) – Minami-Ke Tadaima – (7.6/10) – Unfortunately, Minami-Ke just isn’t my series. I do not like shows in which there is no progression whatsoever. There needs to be some kind of red thread, instead of just watching random sketches. For that, it just wasn’t funny enough. Dropped.#20 (new) – Maoyuu Maou Yuusha – (7.75/10) – The problem with this series is that even though the politics are interesting, it’s got some terrible characters and awkwardly forced romance. It may have potential, but I don’t trust the creators here. Ultimately, I’m dropping this one.#19 (new) – Zettai Karen Children The Unlimited – (7.75/10) – Ultimately I dropped this one. Lack of time is the biggest reason, plus I feel like I’d be too left behind on the background for this show.#18 (new) – Hakkenden Touhou Hakken Ibun – (7.9/10) – Surprisingly good, I’m keeping up with this one. There are times when the animation can’t fully keep up with the storytelling, making things look silly, but it’s got a good array of different characters that play off each other well enough.#17 (6) – Hunter X Hunter – (8/10) – This feels like an entire recap of the Nippon Animation OVA of it. I have this with this arc much more than with the other arcs so far. And with that, there is very little I can say about it. It’s lots of build-up and training arcs. They were interesting when I watched them first, but the thing with watching exposition you’ve already watched before is that it gets more easily boring than the other parts…#16 (16) – Shirokuma Cafe – (8/10) – This series still is an enjoyable comedy. Nothing new to say really: I don’t really laugh out loud anymore, but this show does get the occasional chuckle out of me still. I especially like the small moments, like when two characters end up talking about an undiscovered past they shared together.#15 (17) – Little Busters – (8/10) – I still want to follow this one, although I’m only at episode 15 so far. The thing is that it did get quite charming.#14 (new) – Kotoura-San – (8/10) – This was actually quite cute. The big problem with the series is the male lead, but Kotoura has enough depth to make up for it with her feelings. The side characters also work really surprisingly well with each other.#13 (new) – Tamako Market – (8.1/10) – The problem with Tamako Market is the bird: hilarious in the first episode, but he got old really fast afterwards. Thankfully there is enough in this series to make up for it, but it’s not as fresh as I originally hoped at this point.#12 (12) – Magi – (8.1/10) – The reason why there hasn’t been an entry on this one is a lack of time. I’m going to try and combine multiple episodes for one post for this one, because I’d like to prioritize the other series I’m blogging over this one. It’s not like this one’s bad, but rather that the other ones are better. Where every other series is moving into new directions, this one’s direction with democracies felt the least interesting.#11 (new) – Amnesia – (8.25/10)
Good! The whole paranoia about not knowing what is real and what is happening actually works quite well here. It’s like, a reverse harem with a lot of mystery elements, and I can keep watching that.

#10 (new) – AKB0048 – (8.4/10)
AKB0048 has continued to do what it does really well, but this time we already know the characters. In fact, the added attention to the characters so far have really worked and I did not see a few of the twists coming here. This show has ambitions for its second season.

#9 (11) – Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo – (8.4/10)
Sakurasou got more dramatic this month. And you know what? It worked really well. There was great character-development and the added romance made the characters even better, for all of the main characters. Even the sister, while still terrible, got better. The thing with this series is that it has a lot of small details put into all of its scenes that make it so much more worthwhile than a regular romance show.

#8 (15) – Saint Seiya Omega – (8.5/10)
Why do you make me teary-eyed like that!? What the hell is going on with just a simple fighting series?!

#7 (9) – Robotics;Notes – (8.5/10)
Robotics;Notes got a lot more serious this month, but it worked. A lot of build-up was used well, and I really like how it combined all of its loose threads together, bit by bit. Now keep this up.

#6 (new) – Chihayafuru – (8.5/10)
I’m behind! I know! I apologize! Nevertheless, Chihayafuru rocks and the second season continues with a bunch of strong new characters that can really add a lot of interesting stuff to the characters. I do have to note though, that the show looks less clean now. Where every shot was crisp in the first, there was a lot of awkward animation here. Possibilities are a smaller budget, or more outsourcing?

#5 (5) – Psycho Pass – (8.6/10)
Psycho Pass has headed into its second half, and with that it has gotten more in-depth with its setting and characters, and it did pay off. The developments were really interesting to watch.

#4 (4) – From the New World – (8.75/10)
We’ve just reached the third time-skip, and suddenly we’re dealing with fully grown adults. The most interesting part is the setting though. It just continues to evolve and it becomes more and more clear how screwed the characters are as the show goes on. I really like some of the cunning characters in this series.

#3 (3) – Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure – (8.75/10)
Holy crap, the over the top fights in this series really were creative, and incredibly intense. This series really knows its action yet again, and it just keeps pushing itself forward. Just a shame that the training arc broke up the momentum a bit.

#2 (2) – Zetsuen no Tempest – (8.75/10)
Something interesting went on for this month. The series changed a lot. It got more light-hearted, there were a lot of jokes as the show fleshed out its characters, and I love how it subtly makes its plot more and more complicated. It’s building up to a new mind-screw!

#1 (1) – Uchuu Kyoudai – (8.75/10)
This month was different for Uchuu Kyoudai. The comedy got removed, the pacing slowed down even more and things suddenly became nerve-wrecking. The most annoying are the cliff-hangers. I do have to say though… with a continuation announced, it’s going to get really boring to see Uchuu Kyoudai dominate this ranking month after month. Can we get a series that’s even better to even things out perhaps?

125 Responses

I think the male lead in Kotoura-san is a really nice guy who’s fun to watch. D= He’s not useless at all, actually does things and voices things that I’ve thought the whole time along too. mhn … I don’t think that his occasional pervert fantasies are annoying enough to make him a bad character really ..

Amnesia is absolutely awful. The storytelling and dialogue seem like a complete copy+paste from a visual novel. And a crappy one at that. it doesn’t belong anywhere near the top 12 of the season unless you are a twelve year old girl.

@Spike:Guess that makes me a twelve year old girl lol Though to be fair I do agree that the dialogue is very condescending and the exposition poor delivered with a poor animation budget. However that being said I’m like Alec (see below) I’m invested in the atmosphere and plot itself despite the presentation.

Not saying VNs have bad storytelling at all, there are tons of anime based on VN that are done VERY well. What you don’t want to do is import that VN into anime in a 1:1 copy. It doesn’t work well in the anime medium. It’s like trying to 1:1 copy a book into a movie.

What Amnesia’s problem is – is that every episode is like ‘cardboard cutout bishie #1 route’ and then uses the main chars amnesia to backtrack and take the next ‘route’. it just comes off as sloppy – add in tons of exposition without lips flaps half the time and you get a D+/C- show tops.

@Spike:I would also consider the rest format a bit jarring/alienating at first.
I’m not too fond of visual novel adaptations in general or associate franchises.
The three key series, robotics notes are exceptions for me.
I feel the transition to anime format is far too clunky and most of the time listless.
This extends to reverse harem adaptations too, I’ve read a few reverse harem manga and enjoyed them greatly but I’m not to keen on VN adaptations of reverse harems, they have glimmers here and there but often run into bad pacing.

Yes, why wouldnt he, he only writes about anime in the first place. He has said nothing what so ever of any of the other mediums its spread across because he doesn’t talk about all the other mediums. Sorry mate

It’s indeed all speculation at this point yeah. This list isn’t meant to be a full fledged list of review, but just impressions that I got from the series.

With Maoyuu, I just found it completely boring in the character department, and even though it could become amazing later on, I see too much potential for this to not happen, and I simply don’t want to waste my time on that.

OMG!!! okay psgels doesnt care about whether its written by a different person or not, he reviewing the anime with out having any background on its original sources. how can you not understand this? hes just speculating whats going to happen next like any normal person would. he’s only talking about the anime, so why are you talking about the original written version? He’s obviously going to have know idea about what it’s about.

He IS caring about the background of the ANIME. But what he cares about is a bias against the ANIME staff ruining the story, this makes no sense because the ANIME staff didn’t make the ANIME original story. I don’t think I can put it any easier for you (If by the 4th time you don’t get it then all hope is lost).

HE DOESNT EVEN KNOW WHAT THE STORY IS!! how could he possibly care about it when hes only seen 4 episodes of the anime!! and you dont make sense! “He IS caring about the background of the ANIME. But what he cares about is a bias against the ANIME staff ruining the story, this makes no sense because the ANIME staff didn’t make the ANIME original story” WHAT! you are saying he cares about both so I dont see the problem anymore, he is meant to base his opinion on the studio and staff, He is watching the A-NI-ME! not reading the original work.

I also think it’s a bias against the studio specifically. I think it’s pretty clear that the staff can be more influential than the actual studio (since the studios themselves are mainly responsible for putting together a production in many cases), especially if the staff members are well-known. Considering psgels supposedly knows zilch about the original writer and relatively enjoyed the staff members’ execution on spice and wolf, I can only assume he means ARMS when he talks about not trusting the creators.

I’m actually really annoyed to see love live the 4th last listed. everything about AKB and LL is completely different except for the fact that their both idol shows. Love live isnt trying to be a space action musical, its meant to be a really nice animated coming of idol story that just makes you feel happy. BOTH THESE SHOWS ARE DOING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THINGS!

I’m actually quite surprised that chihayafuru wasn’t ranked higher than sixth I probably would have put it third or second. Most likely my top 10 would have been : 1. Robotics notes, 2. Chihayafuru 3. Space brothers 4. Sakurasou, 5.Hakkenden 6. Tamako 7. Akb 8. Zetsuen 9. New world and actually probably either love live or amnesia or jojo or shirokuma as a tenth.

hmm interesting list, last time I checked you werent watching space brothers but I guess you must of recently watched it. I dont think sakurasou is better than akb, new world or tamako market though. but thats just me. Glad to see your getting the most out of robotics;notes too because a lot of people have left it by now. I’m still quite enjoying it

I’d say I need just a bit more time to warm up to Tamako more. I originally put space brothers on hold actually because I was watching too much back when it finished its first cour or so. That and I felt I’d end up just reading the manga instead cause at the time I was convinced space bros was only going to get 24 eps.
Truth be told I’d considered not picking it back up at first cause it had gotten long but the movie for it and psgels recent entries and a quick flick through some later manga chapters refuelled my interest.

With new world, I tend more towards preferring wordy or darker stuff when I read it rather than watch it, it clicks a lot better usually.
Honestly my mainstay for amnesia is that I seem to always need a shoujo series for a fix.
Given how much you mention love live I’m seriously considering it someday.

The fact that you find the characters in -monogatari annoying almost makes me never want to read your work ever again psgels. Fortunately you’ve led me to enough good stuff that I can let that blight, massive and hideous as it is, slide. ;-)

Especially with psgels’ emphasis on dialogue and multi-faceted characters. I really have a hard time naming a single series with characters as deep as monogatari’s. Yeah, sure, they’ll spend five minutes talking about something sexual but it’s so blatantly over the top that I don’t see why you’d let it bother you to the point of hatred.

Kaiserin that is exactly right. they are the run of the mill stereo typed moe girls each having a centimeter more length in boobs to each other and their own colour to keep everything coded. They are actual characters who have depth and personality. So I dont see the problem……

Depends on what you mean by “deep.” That’s pretty much just a throwaway word now as is “generic harem.”

Probably a better word he could’ve used is “complex,” as in, nisioisin doesn’t mind throwing random shit at his characters until it somehow starts to stick and make sense (which I think is the cool part).

I’m still a bit annoyed by the fact that psgels considers “I don’t find it funny” equal to “It’s not funny”; there’s no way the reader can know if the show is worth watching like this, unless he is completely certain that psgels is the master of the universe and knows what’s best for him without having to explain. But then again, these are quick comments, so it’s partially forgiven.

Anyway, from this season I’m expecting a lot from The Unlimited and Amnesia. Kotoura-san and Maoyuu Maou Yuusha are also good, but not very ambitious so far (of course, they manage to have a charm of their own).

I agree with you on your first paragraph. I feel that these types of remarks usually mean nothing to the reader because unless they try it for themselves they are just going to agree even though the comedy used could be their favourite and not someone elses. that why whenever a season starts I pretty much disagree with all the potentials given to the titles psgels watches.

Boku no Imouto wa Osaka Okan, incest!? If you were looking for an excuse to drop this series, incest isn’t a valid one. You could have said something like it is a cheap flash anime, but this series isn’t about some kind of romance between brother and sister. Actually they act like pretty normal siblings.

Saint Seiya Omega 8!? I know you haven’t watched the original series, but Omega is an insult to the classic series. I don’t know what is the “thing” that makes you watch it.

And you are super biased with Love Live! While it isn’t something great, you shouldn’t really compared it with AKB like they were the same.
It is like saying Inazuma Eleven is better than Captain Tsubasa because they fight evil organizations.

OMG, I’m so with you on everything you said! like with saint seiya omega, wow a tear from the eye placed it at 8th WTH!! Like I get moved by certain scenes in anime all the time but I never go wow that one scene made up for 37 episodes *sob*, but thats just me lol. Also I actually think its quite offensive to say “screw incest” because incest is a very real thing and can upset people when talk about it as wrong. AKB and LL shouldnt be compared at all, thats what pisses me off the most because it instantly was grouped with another show when they’re both soooooooo different.

You should watch the original Saint seiya anime after Omega if you love tears jerking moments. the original anime have something like 30 moment like the episode 40(especially during the Asgard arc).

Even if I love Omega, the sanctuary arc of Omega is really inferior to the one from the original series, same thing for the soundtrack (even if the soundtrack of omega is very good, the one of the original anime was divine)

And as Shigeyasu Yamauchi was heavily involved on the original anime so some episodes were marvelous (especially with Shingo araki and Michi himeno to the chara design, Araki was one of the model for umakoshi)

stop nonsenses gdgd. I am a big fan of saint seiya since I was kid (I am 30), and no, Omega is not an insult to the original series, it’s inferior to the original because some element(ninja, some rushed fight, less good music, less blood and intense fight) but the series is still a very good sequel with good art direction and some very good character (Alia, Sonia, Eden, Soma, Mykene, Medea)

Amnesia: The eyes. I feel like they just invented a new animation technique.

Also, anyone who thinks that guys falling in love with an otome game lead is unrealistic, here’s food for thought: otome game leads are actually moeblobs! Just think about it. The main character both looks and acts kawaii, though in a very non-hyper way. Plus she has severe ADD, which scores her even more moe points.

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Tamako Market: this is better than K-On, because the characters are a lot more varied. I don’t know why it’s getting so little love compared to K-On. Possibly because the girls get less screen time? I guess there’s not a huge audience for moe shows that don’t go all-out moe 24/7 like Lucky Star, K-On, and Ikamusume (oh, are those considered the big 3 of moe like Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach are the big 3 of shonen?).

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Maoyuu: so far, a worse adaptation than even SAO. SAO was haphazardly done, while Maoyuu is just boring. I had a ton of fun reading the manga adaptation, yet the anime adaptation bored me to tears. The difference is to a degree that I have never experienced before.

As a matter of fact, I don’t even know why I prefer K-On over Tamako Market, which I’ve recently dropped due to finding it boring. Compared to K-On, Tamako Market doesn’t rely only on the cuteness of girls, has a diversified cast, a richer setting and actually tries to do humor… But I can’t feel connected to any of it.

Maoyuu only has cheap romance at the begining after that its like any other. In terms of adaptation, I don’t know because Ive never read the source. In terms of narrative, sorry man, Maoyuu is way way better than SAO abomination.

Maoyuu: I’m only talking about what’s currently out. It’s highly possible that future episodes will be more adaptation-friendly and redeem the show.

And I’d love to just read the source material, but I couldn’t find it translated anywhere, and I don’t know enough kanji to start reading anything without furigana yet. I could read shonen manga untranslated if I really wanted to, but light novels are a little bit out of reach.

@Silly there’s a couple of chapters translated on Baka-Tsuki. The format might not be what you’re expecting though, but apparently that’s how it is.

Anime adaptation seems to be fairly faithful. The format of manga usually feels more fast-paced as you can read at your own speed and there’s a lot of implicit information being processed between panels.

I’m raising my eyebrow at the ‘dropped?’ for Nekomonogatari(Black). I don’t think it’s as long as you think it is…

In fact, I’d say you might as well finish this particular arc it since you’re practically at the climax and fall.

The other -monogatari seasons be damned, Neko(Black) was shown in one sitting separate from everything else and I think it’s best to watch it in one sitting as well. But you seemed to have walked out of the theatre not because you thought Nekomonogatari was bad, but because you realized that there were other movies and tv show sequels that are coming out in the future. I don’t particular think this is fair.

That is to say… even if you know that Harry Potter is going to be split up into eight movies, you should try not to get bogged down on the amount of content and just judge each part by its own merits.

Agreed. I was really confused about that as well. Even though I found this particular monogatari to be the one least worth watching, i don’t know why you wouldn’t just finish it since it’s essentially just a movie. Makes me think that psgels just read it off a list somewhere and wrote it off.

It really is short in comparison to other stuff he’s watching…so I’m going to assume psgels will eventually get back to it, being the tsundere he is :p. I agree with rubix, if you’ve come this far, might as well sit it out.

The series I’ve been surprised about this season, not saying is my favorite, is Mondaiji-tachi (and I wasn’t even planning to watch it), I was worried by how perfect the main character is but so far he has intentionally kept himself away from the action which makes him feel like a really powerful side-character, something I like. Things can still go either way and many things could be better but so far I’m kinda enjoying it.

On the other hand I’ve been a little disappointed by Sasami-san a series that at some points I’ve even defend, specially in the story-telling. Maoyuu Maou Yuusha has been pretty much what I expected and Tamako Market has been lovely so far, I specially liked the last episode and how it subtly showed how Anko’s been forced to grow up (with both the pros and cons about it).

Mondaji also gave me a surprise. I think psgels hit it on the nail when he said it’s like Dog Days. Enough interaction to satisfy and some well-executed (not groundbreaking for sure, for those who zero in on that) tropes.

I like it too. It has been my surprise pick for the season. I found it interesting and I like having a kick ass main character. Makes for a nice change from waiting 18 episodes to become good at a fight.

“Mondaijitachi ga Isekai Kara…” is not that bad. At least, it has rather realistic and interesting characters without all these “tsundere”/”yandere” cliches. And games are not so light-hearted as they seem in first ep.

No, I never finished that movie! (Just kidding). Lots of things get explained in 3, but the overall atmosphere hadn’t really changed. If the plot was psgels’ issue, probably understandable to continue, but seems like sasami’s the kind that’s just out of kink with his preferences.

It’s something he’ll miss out on, because the script is continually flipped, and it would always start off as something random and stupid premise but will flip the premise completely to a serious plot point

If you guys are going to bother criticizing Psgels, you shouldn’t do so on the basis that his opinion is different than yours. Like many of you, I think Amnesia is pretty awful (both as a VN AND as an anime adaptation): it fails to do anything remotely interesting as a narrative. Secondly, I would probably have Mondaijitachi ga Isekai Kara… higher up, seeing that its fairly fun despite the ridiculous premise.

That being said, Psgels simply looks for different attributes in his entertainment than, for example, me. I’m all about premise, narrative and execution: Psgels is more about atmosphere and immediacy of entertainment within his favorite genre-set. But then again, I’m not the one running an anime blog, so I’m not in any position to criticize what he chooses to spend his time reviewing…and neither are any of you.

I don’t think that’s the right way to think about opinions. Commenters have a right to express themselves just as much as bloggers have a right to post their stuff. Different opinions have a place in opening other point of views there’s nothing inherently wrong about that.

What really matters is respect. And it’s a two way street. Being open to accept that there are others that think differently while keeping your own thoughts and adjusting there on.

I also agree with rubix. Being a blogger means almost exactly the opposite imo, Houlgrave. If he wasn’t open to criticism in the first place, there’d be no point in running the blog online. if it was just something to write his thoughts down in, a diary is more fitting. publishing online is indicative of being open to comments and discussion.

You guys seem to have missed my main point: I never said that people weren’t allowed to be critical here, but not on on the basis that his opinion is different than yours is. You can be critical the reasoning behind his choices and educate him if you know he’s wrong in his evaluation of a particular anime’s worth, but a lot of people here are literally in hate mode simply because he isn’t choosing to blog or cover specific anime that they would have covered in his stead….and I think that’s kinda silly.

@Houlgrave well, when a lot of his reasoning gets reduced down to something like “bad jokes,” “boobs,” “just something about it,” I think some of the criticism is valid. I know it’s probably just because he’s had to justify these statements many times before, but for people that don’t know that, it does seem like psgels just hating on a series/genre/etc.

you’re not wrong in everything you said, but if you dropped a series that is 2 minute long, and takes like 15 minutes to get
to day with it (i think you watched what, 30 seconds? since i can’t find an answer as of why you’d think it’s an incest) that aside, your “reviews” are nothing but a bunch of opinions, instead of an actual description of the series.

you destroy series for basically nothing but for example “defies the laws of physics” when you can clearly see that following something logic isn’t the point of that anime in particular( for example your review on Mondaiji *yeah, because people controlloing other’s mind a la C. geass is so logical*)

I can’t say i disagree with every “review” you make; but if you’re really going to praise a series for nothing but the studio that animated it, or just because it is something of the genre you like, i can’t take your opinion seriously.

instead of giving an actual review and saying both pro’s and cons of a series, you either decide not to talk at about the cons of a series you like, or the pros on a series you hate.
Thanks for reading.

this is really true psgels. You dont give shows a proper go, yes you watch them but you pretty much walk in hating it without if even knowing how it plays out. You are too set with staff, studio and crappy blurb that means nothing than actually trying the show out with no expectations.

Eh I mostly agree. This is not a good season. But then again, any season where the continuations are phenomenal can really patch over terrible new shows. The fact is in Space Brothers, From the New World, and Chihayafuru, we are watching three amazing shows, and three of which may even become anime classics!

ah yes and airies, would you mind explaining to me why sasami is worth watching, considering you’re the main defender here? truthfully i feel psgels is justified with this dropping. show isn’t exactly amazing, and it feels like something you would just have fun and herp around with rather than something thats trying to be well written, insightful, or groundbreaking. in short i cant feel any potential from this, even with 3 episodes in. I remember watching kazoku nikki long time ago, and it feels like it’s happening all over again

Agreed. And I know this might come as a shock to Shaft fans, but there are a great many people who find Shaft horrible and Akiyuki Shinbo pretentious and a guy who thinks he is clever, when more often than not (With exceptions to Pani Dash, Madoka and Soredemo) he is just plain annoying.

Studio and director bias has always been kind of trademark of psgels especially his love-hate relationship with Shaft and Shinbo. I won’t criticize nor lambast psgels just because his opinion is different from mine.

I adored the majority of Shaft’s and Shinbo’s works though. Whereas psgels just dismissed most of them. I mean, for me, Arakawa Under the Bridge is the best comedy I ever saw (watched it probably three times now, or more). I also liked SoreMachi, MariaHolic, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (although the sequels were a trainwreck) but hated the -gatari series (I just cannot warm up to the characters).

So don’t go bananas just psgels won’t paint rainbows and butterflies over your pick of the season. It’s ok to criticize but just don’t go over the top. This is still his blog – and we’re just the viewers/readers.

^which I don’t really understand. why’s a guy who has fun with adaptations and brings modern design into animation considered clever or pretentious? I fully agree that the show is just having fun and herp around. where did the idea come from that it was trying to be groundbreaking at all?

the point was supposed to be that it isn’t trying to be groundbreaking, which is the reason that psgels is dropping it. if a show is just trying to herp around and have fun, that’s not much of a reason for him to continue watching, which justifies his decision

@someloser I think that’s a misleading statement. I don’t think it’s so much that the show has to be groundbreaking for psgels to watch it, it’s just the kind of fun sasami has isn’t to his tastes. now if you meant it’s a reason not to blog about it, it’d make sense, but I doubt everything psgels watches is groundbreaking.

WHAT!? I have never heard psgel say ever that he only watches shows that are groundbreaking. Where did this come from!? Why is he watching Magi or sakurasou then? ALso I agree with Juno, why cant shinbo just love his job and fuck around with things he likes? Did he ever even say he was clevver? I’m a shaft fan and im not shocked that people hate them. LOL im really confused now with your arguement. This was directed at both SOMELOSER and MCAL

i never said he watches only groundbreaking work either, so stop twisting around words.

jesus, i think you guys are seriously misunderstanding something here. The show sasami is fun, but that’s it. It doesn’t seem to offer anything much other than that. When i placed up my original statement, I said that it doesnt seem to be groundbreaking, insightful nor well written, rather all it does is herp around and have fun, which really isn’t much of a reason to keep watching the show. Psgels said sakkurasou was full of energy and went in a different direction, while magi was a unique portrayal of arabic folklore.

Puh-leassse we both know that both those things arent true. Magi is just another generic shounen anime that really brings nothing to the table except boring political shit and sakurasou is another generic shounen romance that fails to standout amongst its many friends that have all done the same shit its doing. We arent twisting your words around, you wrote them that way.

No, those were the reasons why psgels decided to continue watching them. he thought it would be an interesting take on Arabic folklore and he believed that sakurasou would be a new direction. whether or not they ended up being a bland shonen, or a generic harem, they showed potential at first, which is why he decided not to drop them.

Now for my actual opinion on several shows. I find the conventionality in Maoyuu helps in making all the exposition less boring, which it tends to be. Although I also find that Mao is unrealistically persuasive sometimes. She gets Hero and Merchant to go along with her way too easily.

I don’t see the male lead as bad at all in Kotoura-san. He’s likable and nice in a way that isn’t like every generic male lead in anime. He isn’t afraid to speak his mind and be open about all his ecchi thoughts which for Kotoura is welcome. He isn’t an idiot, unlike Kotoura sometimes (Although I atribute that to her upbringing, so I don’t mean that as a negative) Also I find the fanservice in this show fresh (As in it is based on thoughts that many males sometimes can have) and pretty funny (That wolf and sheep fantasy moment had me in histerics). It’s the side characters I have problems with (Especially Moritani, that bitch) and to be honest the pacing is going faster than a race car on crack.

As for Little Busters, I agree that the series has charm. In fact, it is filled to the brim with charm and the Mio route was very good. But really all of that wouldn’t matter to me if it weren’t for one character, Kurugaya. Honestly, every scene with her is made of pure win and since it seems her arc is near the end, I’d watch the series even if it was horrible. It also helps that she and Riki have nice chemistry. Also, they are similar in where they are comfortable hanging out with all of the guys or all of the girls. Which gets me to the next point, Riki. He is so unlike any harem lead in which he doesn’t stammer like an idiot around a bunch of cute, moe girls. Take episode 15 for example where the girls kidnap (For lack of a better word and the most predictable thing he does is blush when he mistakenly has ecchi thoughts, but it wasn’t even that bad and that’s it. I mean can any of you think of another male harem lead like that. It also helps that episode 15 was hilarious. So far I rank it a 7.67 out of ten. I also think J C Staff has made the anime better with their direction. It definitely has been less melodramtic whch is always a good thing (Especiaaly that bench scene which people are over reacting to how bad it was compared to the VN. It’s just a bench people.

@MCAL: I’ve been very vocal about Gen Urobochi over on the shoutbox many many times. And I was disgusted by Ikkitousen (and stuff like qwaser, queens blade, dakara H). I also never meant it should be at the bottom, only that I would personally rank it lower.
My thing is slice of life/drama and comedies/gothic horror fantasy/romance/dramas/slice of of life in the shoujo/josei demographic and LGBT related manga.
Not really into sci-fi or psychological stuff that much unless its in the drama or slice of life genre.
Short version most dark seinen stuff isn’t my thing.

Sorry about that. I was just really curious why you thought Psycho Pass should be at the bottom, but if you just meant it should be a little bit lower than that makes sense. Agree with you opinion on voice actors (I like Riki, Kyousuke, Kurugaya (Although maybe my bias is acting up), and I like Haruka and Futaki’s VA (Not for the way they sound, but for how the seiyuu can make both their voices so different). So that’s like five out of 14.

With regards to Sakurasou and Magi, I would consider Sakurasou the better of the two as its one of those rare case where the comedy and drama don’t keep tripping over each other. Magi just doesn’t get the balance right from what I saw of it, its another case of trying to be clever but it really isn’t in my opinion.

psgels, I am sad that you dropped Yuusha, then again I have yet to watch EP 3. Honestly psgels, as much as you can disappoint or aggravate me sometimes, I have to commend you for actually checking out all of those series. If I read the premise and it sounds stupid it’s an automatic drop. Almost missed a couple of series that way, and thats where people like you come in, so thanks mate.

I’m fairly guilty though, like psgels with regards to ARMs myself though , I did actually take no more than a quick glance at Esthetica, the lead female characters design and was kind irritated/sent off signals.

AidanAK47
@Anon530022, I am not going to deny being arrogant. That's just my nature. But you are going to have to explain how wanting a show to have a genuine gay romance is homophobic? Kinda missing the logical steps on that jump. Anyway you being gay is irrelevant as I have a bisexual friend who says the romance isn't realistic in the slightest.

Anonymous530636
I love basically any sports/romance anime so Yuri should be straight up my alley, but instead it just fails at both, mainly the sports part since it does try to focus on fanservice of the relationship between Victor and Yuri. I don't feel like the relationship between the two of them is real whether it's romantic or not. They keep having characters voice their thoughts about each other but no

Anonymous530636
Hi random long-time psgels reader, personally I think Yuri on Ice has kind of lost on trying to be a real romance and a real sports anime. It's characters are pretty weak and combing from someone that actually reads BL manga, I agree that their overt level of fanservice like focusing on the two of their lips and the rings, etc doesn't match their level of outright talking about shit.

Lenlo
Age gap isnt that big, and its not homophobic or arrogant to say a show isnt selling an aspect of itself well in his opinion. Lastly, romance for every person is different, so dont expect him to share your experiences/views on it.

Anonymous529997
Also, how Viktor's choice to become Yuuri's coach might have been initiated by not just Yuuri's skating, but Yuuri himself.

Anonymous529997
@Mario: I agree on the strip dance. Like, holy crap. But overall, I really like how episode 10 reframed the series from Viktor's perspective. Like, at first the whole commemorative photo thing made him seem like a jerk, but now we get to see that he had actually had a great time with Yuuri and was probably being genuine about it...

Anonymous530022
You just want them to identify themselves. You feel as if it's your right to know that they are gay. Well it isn't. It is their life, their story. You are being homophobic. You are being close minded. You are being arrogant. You are, indeed, very arrogant.

Anonymous530022
It is a mixture of admiration and lust and because it is hard to distinguish between the two it is difficult to express your feelings directly or even admit it to yourself.

Anonymous530022
As a gay man I attest that this is how romance works, ESPECIALLY when there is an age and experience gap.

Anonymous530022
This shows romance is actually reaistic, but you are still rejecting it. Yuri literally said he had found love. He said neither way who it's directed towards yet you are SO INSISTENT that it is towards skating. in the episode Victor even expressed admiration to Yuri's own dispositions beyond skating. He clearly was 'watching' him.

AidanAK47
If they planned to take such a hands off approach to romance then it would be better if they just focused on the skating. But well then the fujoshi's wouldn't be buying the Blu-rays now would they?

Lenlo
I can understand that, thats a problem I have with alot of modern romance's. Im just not seeing the backing off that happens in those romances. They just seem to raise it more and more in Yuri, without ever crossing the line, rather than toeing it then backing off.

AidanAK47
@Lenlo, To me I find it aggravating. They go so far to portray them as gay yet when it comes to the final say they keep backing off. Hey I want to be more that friends...just kidding! Hey I love you...just kidding! Hey lets get married...just kidding! It like how harems constantly tease the main getting together with each girl when by shows end you know he's not going to get with anyone.

SuperMario
@lenl: agree. I'm still enjoying the hell of the show. A bit out of the blues thou when it comes to the strip dance (they shoulve planted that before), but it's a joy to watch every week

Lenlo
Eh. As I said, I think its above bait below romance. Either way im enjoying it and thats the important part.

SuperMario
For me they're just too much at the moments but unless they confirm it, nothing changes.

Kaiser Eoghan
Y'know I kind of wish Rorico would just come out and directly say he feels too old for most anime, its not really surprising a man in his 60s would be so cranky when it comes to this stuff.

SuperMario
@lenlo: I think it's more about statements. Yes, we understand the context of rings and engagements but unless they confirm it, nothing set in stones. And "hinting" is what they love to do, you can see just by the 2 shows I've coverage myself: Sound Eupho (Reina & Kumiko), Flip Flappers (Papika & Cocona) and people saying those same underlining context things.

Lenlo
I think its beyond baiting, below full blown romance at this point myself.

Lenlo
Does a show have to confirm and say "They kissed" to make it true? Seems along the same lines as "Fade to black" for sex. Then theres the ED which also made the start of the show much more interesting, as with this ED not its Victor that was jilted at the airport, when Yuri ran away.

Lenlo
See, I dont understand why they have to come out and say "We are gay" for you to accept its an actual romance. I dont see how this is baiting anymore either, as the rings and the "Engagement" seem pretty clear to me. Also, without knowing the current climate on the matter in Japan, this could be the clearest they are allowed to make it, while still fully intending for it to be a real romance.

AidanAK47
@Anon1, Agreed. I said before that I would like to be proven wrong on this but this series doesn't seem to have done that yet. I really will admit I am wrong to Anon2 if it does provide proof but it would need to be far more substantial than this.@Anon2, Girl, boy, whatever.

Anonymous529660
@Aidan: I think the only thing from that scene that hints at actual romance would be where Viktor says something along the lines of a lot of other people got their L words from Yuuri, which he had earlier stated are "Love" and "Life." Honestly, even this is pushing it though, but the fact that he said it like that suggests that both he and Yuri got "those words" from Yuuri.

AidanAK47
Way I saw that scene was the guy saying "Fuck you, you think Yuri is so great. Well I am gonna be better than Yuri. Just you wait and see" and then Victor remarking on how Yuri awoke his competitive spirit. Aka his love for Skating.

SuperMario
@Kaiser: Although I like both, I always prefer impressionism better. Expressionism for me tend to be a bit overwhelming and a bit subjectively. But mind you Flip Flappers still has moments of Expressionist as well (Episode 6: Irochan's parents)

AidanAK47
@Anon, I got the context you saw fine. About him getting mad over the "Good luck charm". You are being baited girl, hook, line and sinker.

Anonymous529618
You are missing context. You don't know anything. You don't even know why Yuri was mad do you? Why the fuck would he be mad about loving skating.

Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: I bring up the impressionism vs expressionism thing because I feel that the impressionistic aspects of say a Tarkovsky film, Malick film and flippflappers feel superior to me over expressionistic style because its more emotionally satisfying while ALSO being athmospheric, Whereas expressinistic visuals are ONLY atmospheric.

Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: Flippflappers has now reached a level where I feel the impressionism has gone beyond simply visual immersive in a way that makes us part of its world and has become more emotional.

Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: You mention impressionism in your review of flipflappers, in general do you feel on a visual level you respond more strongly to expressionism or impressionism?

SuperMario
I watched the whole thing so I know that in this episode, except the time they're giving rings to each other (in the name of "good luck charm") and Victor somewhat pump Yuri up for the Gold medal by Not Denying it; they still haven't admitted anything.

AidanAK47
Oh I think I see it now. Yeah this is nothing mate. The conversation was about skating from begining to end and Victor mentioned that he wasn't the only one to get his "L words" from Yuri. Pretty clear he means how Yuri helped Yurio awaken a love for Skating. Romantic love doesn't really make sense within the context. But yeah, they admitted nothing.

AidanAK47
Quite frankly if they don't have the balls to admit they are gay by this point they are just not going to.

AidanAK47
Time stamp means the point in the episode he actually said it. Like 18 minutes 20 seconds in or something. You should be able to get one. But maybe you can't find it either. Only thing I found Was about yuri teaching victor through his life and love but that's ambiguous enough to refer to his love for skating.

Masky
So wait, is that same anon repeating himself or two different anons where second one copy pasted part of first one's post

Anonymous528870
They literally admitted a love triangle between the three main characters. You're in denial.

Anonymous528815
Are you kidding? This episode they outright admitted a love triangle between the three main characters. You're in denial.

AidanAK47
I actually was going to admit that I was wrong when I heard about the "Kiss" and gladly do so. But when I watched the scene in question it's clear what I said is still correct. They will dance around it, sure. But never outright confirm it.

AidanAK47
@Anon, discussed this before when the "Kiss" happened. Despite the series hinting it, and hinting it hard, it still hasn't outright confirmed it. While I am sure it is head canon to the watchers, the series itself is just queer baiting.

SuperMario
Okay... Just watched this week's Yuri on Ice. Haha things got weird again... and they so nailed Barcelona here, I recognized most of the places.

SuperMario
@anon527634: actually about that, I am a bit let down that after that "supposed kiss" in episode 7, no one in the series mentioned it again. Just like that "kiss" never happened.

Anonymous527534
So when is Aidan going to publicly admit he was wrong about the Yuri romance?

SuperMario
I'm also planning to catch BBK/BRK before the year end soon. I'm also find that series entertaining despite its obvious flaws

Kaiser Eoghan
But come to think of it, I do know what its like to enjoy something admittedly flawed, the first season of utawerumono was like that for me, I have nothing but criticism of it in all aspects but yet ended up being one of those things I somehow enjoyed watching.

AidanAK47
I wonder if anyone here is still watching Bubuki Buranki? It's weird but despite how deeply flawed it is I find it fairly enjoyable. Though that fantastic soundtrack certainly helps.

AidanAK47
@Anon, Oh they announced a Sonic movie too. Apparently it's a mix of live action and animation.

Anonymous525559
I am suprised SEGA didn't announce an Sonic movie and went with games like Altered Beast and Crazy Taxi, they probably could have just ripped off one story from the Archie Sonic comics and make an movie based on that, preferably the story where Sonic travels in the multiverse to fight an super powerful Sigma alongside Classic Megaman and Megaman X,Steet Fighter cast,Breath of Fire 3 cast and more

AidanAK47
@Anon, A parody Grindhouse film actually could work. I consider Overkill the best of House of the dead. Thing is there actually is already a house of the dead movie so this would be their second attempt. The first attempt...lets just say it didn't work out.

Anonymous523336
And House Of The Dead: Overkill is probably the best game in the franchise to adapt, i mean, it has Isaac Washington in it and dude's awesome.

Anonymous523336
None of those games have much of a story, but at least House Of The Dead could make for an entertaining silly movie, i mean House Of The Dead: Overkill is freaking awesome and has silly cutscenes at the start and end of every level.

Kaiser Eoghan
Archer I simply lost track of and it ended up getting to long to catch up on it.

Kaiser Eoghan
Relatively old news, although I've been joking with friends about what if scenarios for a streets of rage film. I know there is a cg/live action hybrid sonic film in the works. I kind of want to think a shinobi or streets of rage film could work if they went full on 70s style action film.

AidanAK47
None of these games are played for the story. You would be better off just making a new game for them instead of a movie.

AidanAK47
I haven't even seen Archer. On another note SEGA is planning a bunch of live action movies of their franchises and boy do they all sound like a horrible idea. Shinobi, Golden Axe, Virtua Fighter, The House of the Dead, Crazy Taxi, Streets of rage and Altered Beast.

SuperMario
@Anon522497: hmm, I found Moonbeam City underwhelmed and for Archer up until their last season I actually got a bit tired of the cast (couldn't finish that season 7)

Anonymous522497
If i wanted Archer i would just watch Archer or Moonbeam City like everyone else.

Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: That'd be the compiliation film. I watched that based on hearing that the film version trimmed back on the shows weaker moments.

SuperMario
@Kaiser: was it the compilation film or the series itself? That scene is the highlight of that first season. I'm always a fan of KyoAni so it's very natural that I enjoy this series a whole lot.

Kaiser Eoghan
I watched the first season of sound euphonium, not much to say for it other than I liked the teacher guy and the scene where the black haired girl tells the main character that she thinks shes hiding behind a mask. Animation was as expected of kyoani good. All of those emotion shots though and some of the melodrama...

Lenlo
Looks like an Epee. The large bell guard, the fact that they are focusing on thrusting attacks instead of slashing (mostly). Fencing is alot of fun. Be prepared for some bruises though, as some people put their full body weight behind their thrusts.

SuperMario
@Lenlo: the more you described the more I found fencing interesting. I might take a look around my town to see if we have Fencing here (the curse of living in a small town).

Lenlo
Blades are slightly different, yes, but mostly just in their guard and how much they bend. Sabers bend easily, Epee's not so much. Surprisingly Epee is the slowest, because people tend to be more careful. Saber is actually the most aggressive of the blades, atleast at my skill level

AidanAK47
That's all they had to do. Just stay inside and let it pass. But for some weird reason they just keep panicking over nothing.As far as time/alternate world stuff goes this was ridiculously underwhelming. Just finished another movie called triangle and now that's how you do Time travel mindfuckery.

AidanAK47
@Mario, I am not fond of movies where people make stupid decisions for no good reason. For example:"We should just stay inside""No, staying inside isn't realistic"WHY IN THE HOLY HELL ISN'T IT REALISTIC.

SuperMario
Showed that movie to a bunch of friends last year and I remembered one of the girl just shut off the movie after 15'

SuperMario
@Aidan: too bad. I found Cohenrent really funny and entertaining. Some of their twists are stupid but I was actually invested in much of their characters. Maybe because I always love movies about a bunch of characters in an isolated setting

SuperMario
@Lenlo: sounds like Epee is the most "all-out-attack" and aggressive one. Their blades are different as well I assume?

AidanAK47
Just watched a movie called coherence and man, what a bunch a pseudo-intellectual garbage that was.

Lenlo
For Right of Way, its basically Person A attacks, Person B parries, Person A hits, Person B hits, Person B gets the point because they took right of way with the parry. Saber and Foil both have that, but Epee does not. Epee is simply "Whoever hits the opponent first, doesnt matter where, whole body is target area"

Lenlo
Theres Saber, Foil and Epee. The main difference is this thing called right of way, but there are other smaller ones like how Saber can hit with the edge and Epee is allowed to hit the entire body, instead of just the chest like Foil

SuperMario
For news, Blood Blockade Battlefront getting second season next year. As it was one of my favorite last year I'm really lokking forward to this second season

SuperMario
@Lenlo: that sounds great. From what I know from fencing there are 3 different types of blade right? So what are the differences between them? (Fencing 101 here)

Kaiser Eoghan
Although a fantasy sports thing could also generate interest, such as combining sports together to create something totally new.

Lenlo
@SuperMario, Fencing was great. Favorite sport ever and it helped me stay in shape in College. I find Epee to be the best blade, mostly cause I fenced it, but its a very intense 3 minutes. Unlike sports like Soccer and such which is alot of sustained running, Fencing is 3 minutes of Dont-Stop-Moving then wait till next match. Gets really fun once you figure out your own style.

SuperMario
haha, I wouldn't mind either if each episode focus on a single sport/ character/ country. Or even the positive aspects like role models, sports inspirations and stuffs

Kaiser Eoghan
And it would be a good excuse to have characters of multiple backgrounds included too.

Kaiser Eoghan
Could be an 13 episode ova series with 48 minute episodes, and if its to be an ensemble character drama you could have 10 minutes to a each character (the ones being focused on in that episode) in each episode.

Kaiser Eoghan
Ah yes, aswell as cheating it could also get into "stage parenting", "abuse", "Disabilities" and also the general politics of sports, the backroom stuff.

SuperMario
I'll be the first in line if that olympic anime ever come out. Could be interesting to see the interactions between athletes in different sports, and then fans/athletes/coaches relationship, then the gold rush, doping... So much to talk around to

Kaiser Eoghan
I don't think theres ever been a manga about hurling either. Hey heres an idea, someone do an ensemble drama anime that deals with the olympics, fit in multiple sports that way.

SuperMario
Personally I find Australian football much more exciting than rugby. Or crickets.

SuperMario
@Kaiser: ha! Interesting that you mentioned Gaelic football, because in Aus we have AFL (Australian Football League), that really similars to Gealic Football to the point sometimes we have the 2 national teams compete each other with modified rules

SuperMario
Hey, fencing is actually really cool. How did you like it Lenlo?

SuperMario
You have your point there Topgavin, as I clearly remember many instances where players' legs, backs or even necks got snapped during rugby's tackles. But in regards to Rugby I never really care about it. That and car racing

Lenlo
Its mostly the type of injuries you get that differ I think. Football you get concussions and broken bones and such, while in Rugby you probably get alot of bruises and cuts. Granted I have played neither, I was a Soccer man in highschool and fencing in College

Lenlo
American football has alot of rules, and really is just a bunch of millionaires running around chasing a ball. Rugby however, as Topgavin said, has no pads so when you get hit you get hit HARD

AidanAK47
I never ceases to surprise me just how high and mighty visual novel fans can be over Mosaics present in localized games. I mean they are literally complaining about not seeing genitalia yet the way they phrase it, it's like they are fighting against great injustice. If these VNs were Nukige they might have a point but in most cases the sex scenes in question are pointless and shoehorned in.

Topgavin
@Mario Rugby is more extreme *because* it has no protective gear. No hiding behind helmets and cushioned shoulder pads when ya get bowled over.

SuperMario
@Lenlo: I'm no expert but isn't American football a variation of Rugby? And I believe american football is more extreme, considering they have to wear helmets, protection gears and all that

Lenlo
I dont think theres alot of manga about it because its simply not that popular outside the US. As far as it being a battlefield, eeeeh? Not really? You want a battlefield watch Rugby.

SuperMario
I can think of other cool sports that could be interesting to see in anime: Kick Volleyball (Sepak takraw), Bossaball (combined soccer, volleyball in a trampoline), or in the same vein of skate figures this season, why not pole dancing competition???

Anonymous504493
What other sport is cool and popular that remains original to write about by now? There isn't a lot of manga about it compared to anything else.

Anonymous504493
American football looks like a battlefield with a visible battleline and everything. Id like it if there wasnt so many darn commercials.

Lenlo
I mean, its a sport. Far cry from best, but its definitely a sport.

SuperMario
@Vonter: or maybe because american football IS the best sports ever?

Kaiser Eoghan
@Vonter: Most likely due to the middle section of the original anime being the most popular bit.

Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: Its not safe enough a film for me to properly recommend. Even to exploitation fans, they might find it too slow others would be too sensitive to it. Really una vita violenca, mamma roma, accatone, hawks and sparrows are what Pasolini is really about.

SuperMario
Now that you watched Salo, would you recommend the film to other people? I personally think it's a masterpiece but it's one of the title that I think people would break up with me if I show them this movie

SuperMario
@Kaiser: even him as a director, both Braveheart and Apocalypto don't do much to me, will see if Hacksaw Ridge going to change my mind (but I'm not to fond with war movies in general). La Notte is in my sooon-to-watch list for years, haha

Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: Thats why I prefer the neo-realist/quasi-neo-realism stuff as it deals with the worse off in society. But Antonioni was the master of being able to do films about angsty well-off people, L'aventura, the passenger and La notte for example

Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: Its not so much that I dislike post 50s fellini moreso I feel that his throw everything at the screen and hope what sticks method can be hit or miss.

SuperMario
While I don't really mind his later stuffs because he was masterclass, I have a pretty hard time for Paolo Sorrentino's later works. The thing is I don't care much about the high class society so everything is just ridiculously over the top and glamour and I'm tired of it.

SuperMario
I haven't watched nights of cabiria but I did watch La Strada and boy, I was sad for few days after watching it. Fellini mentioned that he was inspired to make this movie when seeing a woman pushing a cart from behind. The film really carry that sense throughout its running

SuperMario
Michael Haneke put Salo in his top 10 films. Quite understandable when you think about it. Still for me one of the movie that affected me deeply.

SuperMario
I really admire Elle for its ability to maintain its sharpness because under other inexperienced directors it could easily becomes a mess. Mel Gibson, really? He's one of the few actors that I absolutely dislike

SuperMario
@Kaiser: The Red Turtle remains one of the the most refreshing time I had this year in cinema, but then again I haven't watched much films lately. Agree with you on Sonia's performance, and I still think they could cut out the first 20' of the film because it feels out of place compare to the rest of the film

Kaiser Eoghan
Debating whether to bother catching up on I am a hero or watching the film adaptation. I haven't read it since they got rid of that one female character.

Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: I've a feeling you'll like nights of cabiria, Fellini was cranking out some solidly effective social-realist dramas in the 50s before he fell into self-indulgence.

Kaiser Eoghan
Now I have that sound euphonium compilation film downloaded, I should get to that sometime.

Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: I also finally watched Salo, I ended up meeting it pretty much halfway. Some parts still retain the ability to effect a modern viewer, having seen his other works though its crazy just how different Salo is to them.

Kaiser Eoghan
@Mario: Seeing I, daniel Blake tomorrow and rogue one in a few weeks.

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Featured Posts

So her whole life is a lie, huh? Now that she realizes Yayaka’s friendship as a fake, Cocona’s partnership as a substitute, Flip Flapp organization downright used her for their gains, obaa-chan even betrayed her; Cocona is on a verge of complete breakdown, but who would’ve thought she transforms into the-other-dark-magical-girl-show level of insanity? Struck […]

This season surely gives us too much of Kumiko-cuteness versions. After the fluffy little Kumiko last few weeks, the bedridden sore throat Kumiko, the surprisingly “always listening – always understanding” (such a pretentious slogan) Kumiko last week, what shades pf Kumiko is in store for us this week? Of course it’s an emo teary-eyes Kumiko. […]

The presentation of Occultic;Nine is starting to remind me of speed Racer, an anime from a bygone era which had a rather infamous dub. Basically due to the literal translation, the way which Japanese can say more with less words and the speed of dialogue it required the dub actors to say a large amount […]

I am really starting to dislike how this show is killing off the characters I grow remotely interested in while leaving only the dullest characters to carry the show. Don’t take that to mean I cared about the remaining twin angel that got killed off because her death was pretty deserved. But this cements the […]

Drifters is at it’s best when the Orte are getting trounced and they are certainly getting a beating here. I could complain over how the Orte are one dimensional villains but after the master race bull and the concentration camp here they are quite literally Nazi’s at this point. Nazi’s are the one type of […]

We’re back with 3-gatsu no Lion after a week hiatus from sick leave (I know everyone got sick last week, be it in springtime in this corner of the world, or the start of winter elsewhere) and I’m glad that the show returns in good form. Kyouko might be the most distinctive character the show […]

Again this week, Yayaka takes up the stage and by the end of this episode her arc is basically over, now that she is abandoned by the Cult and is taken over by Cocona and Papika. But what an emotional ride this episode delivers. I’m particularly taken not only by the action and consequence she […]

By episode sevens end it did confirm that indeed, the majority of the cast is dead which brings up a whole host of problems. For you see while this twist may seem like a interesting left turn, it only really works if you consider the time a character is shown on screen the only time […]

Two-third of this Fall season have passed and usually this is the time for our shows to reach to their full potential. Sound Eupho, comfortably delivers one of its best episode of this second season. As you can probably tell by the self-titled nature of this episode, our Eupho players are given as the centerpiece […]

Latest Reviews

Hooray, I’m finally back to this section after a while. I originally plan to review a more in-focus groups of animated films, like Korean movies, anthology movies, female-directed films, etc but now I have a different plan. The days that I cover all these will come, I promise. Instead, this time I want to highlight […]

Sometimes you dread for the current state of anime: high school settings, cute girls, fan-service jokes, idol madness… that you wish for once to see something different, and out of nowhere an oddball like this just pop up: a wuxia puppetry show influenced by Taiwanese glove puppetry written by Gen Urobuchi. The sheer fact that […]

What would you do if you receive letters from your future-self saying that you can change your future? That’s exactly what Naho experienced as she obtains ones from herself 10 years later that urge her to look after her new friend and prevent him from committing suicide. The premise, I agree, is hardly anything groundbreaking, […]

When taking up the job of checking out every anime season you really can starve for something different. Variety is the spice of life and yet the entertainment industry seems determined to give us more of the same. So in the sea of average high school students gaining superpowers and harems I see an anime […]

After the explosive popularity of One Punch Man it really was a high bar that another work of the author ONE had to reach. While it didn’t quite manage that it still differentiated itself enough to allow it to be a worthy anime of it’s own right. But admittedly that will depend on whether this […]

I will be the first to admit that this is very much a biased review as I have come to love this series very dearly and will now proceed to devour every piece of entertainment related to it that I can find until the day a second season is confirmed. The story involves a boy […]

Well I promised I would do a review of this visual novel quite a while ago and believe it or not I only just got around to finishing it. If the fellow who requested it is still here then here you go, I kept my word. Anyway it has been a while since my last […]

The title of this game rather says everything you need to know about my initial reaction, and I’m still all around puzzled at the mixed bag that this turned out to be – it IS just a standard mashup while having a bit of fun with some experimentation, but the game itself is actually a […]

Just a quick note that I originally intended this week’s review to be about Miss Hokusai. But because of the DVD release of this Kizumonogatari (with good subtitle to boost), I decided to bump this up and review it instead. Monogatari series has been among one of my favorite series, and certainly the one that […]